The grooming of human hair is a common and important activity. Typical routines for grooming hair include washing, drying, and styling of hair. Such routines are especially common for individuals with relatively long hair. It is common for an individual to wash hair via a shampooing process and subsequently dry the hair using a conventional blow dryer. Although, blow-drying of human hair has been a common practice for decades, blow-drying often causes damage to the physical structure of human hair. Hair is a fibrous filament made of protein and each strand of hair is comprised of three layers—a medulla, the inner layer; the cortex, the middle layer; and the cuticle, the outer layer. The medulla is a generally unstructured region at the center of a strand of hair. The cortex surrounds the medulla and is an important layer because it provides each strand of hair with its mechanical strength and absorbs moisture, which is needed for healthy hair. The cortex also includes melanin, which determines the color of hair. The general shape of the cortex contributes to the general shape of strands of hair, i.e., whether hair is straight, wavy, or curly. The cuticle protects the medulla and cortex from the environment. Because the medulla and cortex are sensitive to damage the cuticle has an important role in maintaining the health of each strand of hair.
The cuticle is comprised of a series of cells that generally lay one after the other down the length of each strand of hair from the root of the strand to the exposed end of the strand. Such cells work in cooperation to prevent damage to the inner structures of hair and to maintain and control the water content of each strand of hair. When a conventional blow-dryer is used to dry hair, hot air directed at the hair can cause the cells of the cuticle to open outward, which can expose the cortex to the hot air. Such exposure can damage the cortex by breaking down its structure and removing the moisture stored in the cortex that is necessary for healthy hair. Such damage often results in hair acquiring a dry and lackluster appearance and retaining static charge, which can cause an unwelcome appearance often referred to as “frizzy” hair.
Additionally, people often desire hair that is straight and has a sleek finish. To achieve such an appearance, people often apply heated flat iron straighteners to already dried hair. However, the application of heat can cause temporary changes in the structure of the hair, including altering hydrogen bonds that structurally support a strand of hair. Such changes in structure can weaken hair, result in a dull appearance, and, over time, such temporary changes can result in permanent damage to the strands of hair.
Alternatively, when the goal is to achieve curly or wavy hair, it is common to use a blow-dryer along with any number of styling devices to blow dry curls or waves into wet hair. Such methods include directing the flow of hot air at hair from a variety of angles while manipulating the hair into various arrangements. Such treatment often results in damage to the styled hair. There are also many types of heated styling tools including curling rods and irons that are commonly used on dry hair. However, these methods can also cause damage as hair is put in direct contact with heating elements, which intensify the heat that is applied to each strand of hair.
There is a need in the hair grooming industry for systems, apparatus, and methods for grooming hair that are less damaging, faster, easier, and more effective than traditional methods of grooming hair.